THE SUN is the heart of our solar system. It is known as yellow dwarf star, a hot ball of glowing gases. The distance from the Earth to the Sun varies because the Earth’s orbit about the Sun is in elliptical form. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]
At its closest, the distance is about 91,402,000 miles and its farthest distance is about 94,512,000 miles. This gives an average distance of 92,957,000 miles. Sunlight travels at the speed of light. The photons (light rays) emitted from the surface of the Sun need to travel across the vacuum of space to reach our eyes.
The sun’s light takes approximately 8.3 minutes to reach the Earth after it has been emitted from the sun’s surface.
This is very quick considering the distance between Earth and Sun. Similarly, the time it takes for light rays to reach planets in our Solar System varies from a planet to planet. [/ihc-hide-content]
